The Girl Who Mastered Death
by Kazine
Summary: A slight change in Lord Voldemort's plan leads to him successfully killing Harry Potter, but leaving Lily and James alive. The fate of the Wizarding World is at stake. Could Hermione Granger be the new "Chosen One"?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
** _31st October 1981_

The sky in Godric's Hollow was pitch black by the time Lord Voldemort arrived. Rain lashed against the ground as he made his way to the Potters' cottage. It was past eleven o'clock, the Trick or Treating muggle children had long since retired to their beds, leaving the streets silent, the plastic decorative pumpkins redundant for another year.

He approached the cottage, which stood in silent darkness. The family were already in bed, no doubt sleeping soundly under the false illusion that they were safe. Perhaps this would send a message - when Lord Voldemort is after you, you're never safe.

At long last, the fools had agreed to change their secret keeper from Sirius Black to Peter Pettigrew, ignorant to the fact that Peter was a traitor. He had passed their location straight to Lord Voldemort, ever the faithful servant.

The Potters would already have been dead if he'd had it his way, but he had decided to hold off for a few hours due to the request of Severus Snape. Severus was his most valuable and loyal follower, and for some reason, he had become foolishly infatuated with the mudblood Lily Potter. He had begged Lord Voldemort to spare her life, and - wanting to keep Severus on his good side - he had agreed. The Dark Lord had decided to come to the cottage later that night, when the Potters would be in bed, in the hopes that Lily wouldn't get in his way. If she did prove to be a problem, he would not hesitate to take her out too. Killing the infant - Harry Potter - was just too important of a mission, and could not be compromised just to save Severus Snape's feelings. Not that Lily Potter could even dream of being a match for the Dark Lord.

Lord Voldemort knew that the house would have wards, despite the fact they had a secret keeper. The wards would likely inform the Potters to his arrival as soon as he crossed the threshold, so he would have to be quick. He swept up the garden path, raising his wand to the door. With one spell, it was blasted off its hinges, and he swiftly flew up the stairs and into what he knew to be the child's bedroom. He barely registered the screams of Lily Potter as he pointed his wand at the hysterical toddler, casting the killing curse. A flicker of relief passed through him as the child fell, lifeless, to the bottom of the cot, just like every other person who had been on the receiving end of the curse. Whoever could have thought that a mere toddler could have been a match for him? They had certainly been proven wrong now.

As Lily and James burst into the room, Lord Voldemort flew out the bedroom window with his wand, before taking off, flying out of it and away from the grounds of the cottage. When he was beyond the reach of their anti-apparition wards, he disapparated.

James had to stop Lily from hurling herself out of the window after Voldemort. He held her around the waist as she flailed, screamed and swore, shooting spells outside at the empty sky.

Eventually her fury subsided as her attention turned to her dead son in the cot. Anger faded - shock, grief, and hysteria took over. She scooped Harry's limp body out of the cot and hugged him tightly to her chest. She didn't even need to check to know that he was gone - no one survived that curse. Sobs ripped from her chest, her screams could he heard from across the village through the shattered window.

"Not Harry!" she choked out, James holding her tighter than he ever had before, "Please, not Harry!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Albus Dumbledore was just about to retire to his chambers when the fireplace in his study lit up, and James Potter stumbled into the room. It took Albus by surprise, James should have been in hiding, and it wasn't like him to call so late, and without advance notice. Albus suspected he came with bad news, and the solemn look and dried tears on James' face all but confirmed his suspicions.

"James, why aren't you still in hiding? What has happened?" he asked. He knew the answer before James spoke, though he hoped beyond hope that it wasn't true.

"It's over," James whispered, "The aurors are with Lily and Ha-" his voice caught in his throat with a shudder, "He killed Harry. My boy is dead."

Tears started to fall again. Albus felt his eyes sting as he thought of the young boy. He tried hard to hold back the tears. He felt he should offer his condolences, but he didn't even know where to start. Before he could speak, James spoke again.

"I wanted to come here, I wanted to be the one to tell you. You did so much to protect us."

"I will forever regret that it wasn't enough," Albus said solemnly.

"This is not your fault, you did everything you could. But we changed our secret keeper to Peter at the last minute. Sirius thinks he must be a traitor, a spy for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He's gone to hunt down Peter, I couldn't do anything to stop him."

Albus was not surprised to hear that Sirius Black had taken it upon himself to play the vigilante. He had always been hot-headed, even in his school days. He also loved Harry, his Godson, immensely.

"He didn't even try to harm me or Lily. I don't understand. I thought he was coming after the both of us? What could he possibly have against my son? My baby boy?"

Albus knew that this question would come up. How could he explain why he had lied to them? Well, perhaps not lied, but he had failed to tell them the truth, about the prophecy. And in the end, it was because of the prophecy that their son was dead. Now Albus didn't even know what that meant for the fate of the wizarding world - Harry Potter, the boy who was supposed to stop Lord Voldemort - was dead.

"There are details that I didn't tell you, when I advised that you take your family and go into hiding. Details that we may be better waiting until a later date to discuss - perhaps when Lily is able to be here."

He saw James' change from grief and confusion, to accusation.

"What details? You knew that he was after my son?" he demanded.

"I really think that this conversation would be better held when-"

"No, you need to tell me right now! You let us think that he was after us, when you knew all along that all he wanted was Harry?" James was angry, confused, hurt - rightfully so.

"I have to confess that I did know that Harry was Lord Voldemort's primary target. You have to understand that what I am going to say has been kept a very close secret, for reasons that will become obvious. Severus Snape overheard a prophecy, foretold by our newest Divination teacher, Sybil Trelawney. The contents of the prophecy suggested that your son may have held the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. Naturally, Lord Voldemort wanted to make sure that that could never happen."

"So it's Snape's fault that my son is dead? I knew he was a Death Eater, but I didn't think he would sell us out like that! Sell Lily out!"

"Severus did not know that the prophecy spoke of your son. In fact, there was another boy, Alice and Frank's son, whom the prophecy could also have described. It was Lord Voldemort that decided the prophecy was about Harry."

"He was still happy to pass on the details to his master that would lead to him killing a baby! How do you even know this? And why am I just finding out?"

Albus knew that he had to be careful with his words here. It was imperative that he exercised some form of damage control - it was going to be hard enough to have the members of the order accept that Severus was now a spy for them, but if they all believed that Snape was solely responsible for Harry's death, then it would become impossible for them to accept him.

"Severus has defected from Lord Voldemort. When he found out that he had chosen Harry over Frank and Alice's son, he was deeply remorseful for his actions. Severus does not wish any harm to come to Lily or her family. He has risked everything, including his life, by coming to me and asking me to protect your family, to put you into hiding."

Albus failed to mention that Snape had initially begged Lord Voldemort to spare Lily in exchange for James and her son. All it mattered in the end was that Snape was on their side now.

"Why didn't you tell us about the prophecy?" James demanded, "We could have done more! We could have kept Harry with us, in our room, in our bed, instead of in his cot! We would have died protecting him!"

"I know that you would have, James. But as you know, we suspected that Lord Voldemort may have had a spy in your close circles - and rightly so, as Peter has proven. You trusted Peter enough to choose him as your secret keeper. Would you also have trusted him enough to tell him about the prophecy? Which he would have immediately informed Lord Voldemort about?"

Albus could tell that James was struggling to stay angry. He knew Albus had a point. They would have trusted Peter, and Voldemort would have found out about the prophecy.

"I know you will be, understandably, angry at me for keeping these vital details from you, and I hope that you can, in time, accept that I truly did what I believed to be in your family's best interests. I also hope that your trust in me remains uninjured."

James didn't speak. Albus knew that he was still angry, and that he would have a lot to think about before he could be expected to forgive him.

"You have to go back home, to Lily. She needs you now more than ever," he told him gently, "I'm going to call an order meeting tomorrow. I will send you the details by owl, but I truly understand if you and Lily are not in attendance. But we need to decide what to do next, for the sake of the wizarding world. Harry was the only hope we had."

"We will be there," James insisted, as he got up and headed towards the floo, "We need to find a way to bring him down. For Harry."

Almost immediately after James disappeared into the fireplace, Severus stormed into the room without knocking. He looked windswept, and Albus guessed that he had just gotten back after being summoned by Lord Voldemort, perhaps so that he could tell him the good news - Harry was dead, Lily was not.

"What happened?" he demanded, "I thought you were going to keep them safe?"

"Lily and James put their faith in the wrong person, Severus. But it seems as though Lord Voldemort took your wishes into consideration, and decided to spare Lily in exchange for her son."

"No! You have to understand, I was desperate when I said that! I never wanted this, for Lily to suffer like this! That's why I came to you! You promised you would protect them," he looked angry, but also scared, "If Lily ever finds out that I said those things, and was responsible for the death of her son, I may as well just ask the Dark Lord to kill me, because whatever she will do to me will be a thousand times worse."

"I don't think you need to worry about Lily coming after you, Severus. James already knows the part you had to play, and he also knows the lengths you went to protect them, risking everything to tell me about what Lord Voldemort had planned, and asking me to protect them. He is angry, and no doubt Lily will be, but I think, in time, they will accept that you regret your actions, and, in the end, tried to protect them."

Severus dared to look a little hopeful.

"So you don't think she will hate me?" he asked.

"Severus, you have to understand, as far as Lily will see it, her son might still be alive if you hadn't overheard that prophecy. I said I didn't think she would come after you, not that she wouldn't hate you," Severus groaned, looking what Albus could only describe as _heartbroken,_ an emotion he was not used to seeing on the usually cold, sneering man's face. "I know how much you regret your actions Severus, and that you want to dedicate your life now to protecting her, but it might take the others a lot longer to trust you. Up until recently, you were a death eater, and you're still pretending to be."

"She's going to be heartbroken. I don't know if I will be able to stand seeing her so destroyed," he admitted.

"Well you might have to get used to the idea. I'm calling an emergency order meeting tomorrow, and I understand that James and Lily are going to be there, more determined than ever to bring down the Dark Lord. I would also like you to attend also. Offer your sincere condolences for their loss and show the order that you are truly on our side. No one has to know that you are in love with Lily, just that you had a drastic change of heart where an old friend was concerned. Tell them all how you risked your life to save the Potters, how you are still risking your life to be a spy for us."

"It will take years for them to forgive me."

"Then it will take years. But you must try Severus, if you wish to be a good man now, because it is the right thing to do."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When James returned to the cottage, he found Lily curled up in her favourite armchair, still cradling Harry, who was wrapped in a blanket. Most of the aurors had disappeared now, only two remained, sitting on the sofa, waiting.

"James," Lily said desperately, getting up as soon as she saw him, "They wanted to take him - to St. Mungo's. But I couldn't let them take him without letting you say goodbye."

 _Goodbye_. He felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes again. He had to say _goodbye_.

Lily walked over to James, handing Harry to him. He thought back to the very first time she had passed Harry to him as a newborn, the picture of James, but with Lily's eyes, bright and full of potential. But now, those eyes were closed, never to sparkle with laughter again.

James broke down, clutching Harry to his body as the sobs shook his entire body. He noticed the aurors quietly leave the room to give him space, but he didn't care who saw.

"My boy," he wailed, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Tears dripped down his face and landed on Harry, rolling down his smooth, flawless face.

After a few minutes, he started to calm down. He pressed his lips to Harry's forehead, his entire body shaking. How could he let him go? To hand him over to the aurors and let them take his boy away? But he knew he had to. If he didn't do it now, he thought that maybe he would never be able to. He called the aurors back, and handed Harry to one of them. He heard Lily whimper, and before he could change his mind, he turned his back on Harry, and pulled Lily into his arms.

"We're so, so sorry," one of the aurors said quietly. James and Lily held each other tightly as the two men disapparated with a loud crack. Harry was gone.

The time passed slowly. James suggested that they go to bed, but Lily said she wanted to be alone for a little while. She went upstairs to Harry's bedroom and shut herself in. James could hear her sobbing, but eventually she went quiet. James crept upstairs after a while to check on her. She was curled up in Harry's cot asleep, her face stained with dry tears, her hair untamed. She held a teddy bear clutched to her chest, almost as if it was Harry.

James took a deep, shuddering breath before finally closing the door, heartbroken to see her like that, wishing he could comfort her, but also knowing that she needed her space, and needed her rest. There wouldn't be much of a chance for either of those things in the coming weeks, months or even years.

He headed back downstairs to be greeted by a tapping on the window. True to his word, Albus had sent an owl. James accepted the letter, but left it unopened on the table. It could wait.

Suddenly there was another crack, and Sirius appeared in the living room - the fidelius charm was down now. Without a word, Sirius threw himself into James' arms. He'd never been one for words, but he had a knack for throwing everything he wanted to say into his actions.

"I thought you'd be in Azkaban by now," James admitted, pulling out of the hug, "I thought you were going to kill him."

"I would have killed him, if the aurors hadn't gotten him first," he said bitterly. "I'd have spent my life in Azkaban for that traitorous little rat."

"Well I'm glad you didn't. I don't know how we would have gotten through this without you."

"Life inside with the dementors will probably be a better punishment for him anyway. Death would be too easy. Not that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named doesn't have the power to just break him out if he wants to." He looked around, noticing Lily's absence for the first time, "Where's Lily?"

"She's in Harry's room," James told him, the name painful to say, "She's asleep."

Sirius nodded.

"Good. She needs it. Now, do you want me to get you a firewhiskey?"

James thought for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"You always know exactly what I need, Sirius. I've got so much to tell you. Just the one though, Albus is calling an emergency Order meeting in the morning."

Sirius brought the firewhiskey from the cabinet and two glasses. They both sat down and James proceeded to tell him all about the prophecy, how Snape had overheard it and passed the information on to Voldemort.

"So this is all Snivellus's fault?" Sirius growled, "I'll kill him!"

"What did I just tell you?" James tutted, "I need you out of Azkaban! Me and Lily need you here, especially with Remus away on his mission. Besides, that's not the end of the story." He told him how Severus had come to Albus to confess the truth, risked his life in order to try to save the Potters, and how he had now agreed to act as a spy for the Order after realising he no longer wanted to be a Death Eater. Sirius let out a slow exhale.

"So, he's still in love with Lily then?" he eventually stated, matter-of-factly.

"Looks like it. After all this time. I thought he just had a creepy crush on her in school, but looks like maybe it was more than that."

"Have you told her all of this?" Sirius asked. James shook his head. Sirius lowered his head into his hands in disbelief.

"It just wasn't the time. She's just lost Harry a few hours ago! How could I tell her that it was Snape's fault without having her either break down to the point of no return, or worse, get herself thrown in Azkaban after performing her first Unforgivable?"

Sirius sighed, clearly also torn for the best thing to do.

"You're going to have to tell her, if you plan on going to this Order meeting. I assume Albus will tell us everything."

James pinched the bridge of his nose, speaking aloud but almost to himself.

"She's going to try to kill him, and I don't even know whether I'd try to stop her."

Sirius clapped his hand on James' back.

"I'll stop her. She would never hex her favourite dog. As much as I'd love to see her avenge Harry's de-" he cut himself off, not wanting to say _death_ so soon, "avenge Harry, Lily does not belong in Azkaban. She wouldn't survive."

"I don't look forward to telling her. I don't know how she will take it. Even I don't know how to take it. It's Snape's fault Harry's gone but he risked his own life to try to take it back. I feel like I'm not allowed to be mad at him but then I remember… It's _Harry_ …"

"It's going to take a lot of getting used to. I don't know how Albus can expect the Order to welcome him with open arms after all of this."

"I don't think we have much of a choice. If the prophecy was right, and Harry was the one destined to kill You-Know-Who, then we need all of the help we can get…"

Sirius just shuddered, trying not to think about the future. All he could see ahead was darkness.


End file.
